Brace yourself
by cpneb
Summary: A 2-parter: Part One occurs right after the aborted Lowardian invasion, and Part Two occurs after Monique’s speech on 9/11 in ‘Leftovers’. Brace yourself: as James T. Possible, Sr. said, “This could get gnarly!” For ja and kt…with respect, and love.


_**Brace yourself …a Kim Possible story**_

Disclaimer/Author's Notes: Kim Possible and all the characters of the show are owned by the Disney Corporation. All other characters are the creation of the author and may not be used without his permission.

This is a strictly not-for-profit, just-for-fun work…at this time.

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**A/N Forward: **

This is a story in two parts: Part One occurs right after the aborted Lowardian invasion, and Part Two occurs after Monique's speech on 9/11 in 'Leftovers'.

Brace yourself: as James T. Possible, Sr. said, "This could get gnarly!"

For ja and kt…with respect, and love.

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_**Brace yourself**_

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_Part 1: after the invasion_

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Jim Possible was almost asleep from exhaustion, but he was happy beyond words for multiple reasons:

One, the aliens had been defeated.

Two, his sister had made it back to the planet…alive.

Three, he and his brother had both been heroes at MHS with their work on the new Mystery Meat power source.

Four, brother Tim had found a true 'hottie' in Hope, a graduating senior cheerleader who, it turned out, was a year younger than her class; that way, there was only a two-year difference in their ages…but not their feelings for each other.

But, for Jim, the most important reason was sitting right next to him on the couch at the Best home, holding his hand as they watched DVDs of _Captain Constellation_, and she would occasionally squeeze his hand when she felt him almost fall asleep.

Olivia Roberts, the young woman who had had a crush major on Wade and even created a 'bun warmer' to make him fall in love with her (unfortunately for Olivia, Joss already had his heart) was now Jim's sole reason for living. Jim hated to admit it, but he had fallen head-over-heels for the younger woman who, now, was living with the Best family after the Lowardians had killed her parents and damaged her house.

Jim was planning to come over anyway (how could he resist her smile?), but Sarah's heads-up had him come over earlier: Olivia had learned that her mother was pregnant when she was killed, and she had not told Olivia. The news had hit her hard: not only had she lost a mom and dad, but she had lost a baby brother who had not even had a chance to be born.

She had fallen into Jim's arms when she opened the door, and he had held her until she quit crying, pulling her over to the love seat so she could sit and he could hold her while she released her pain. She had cried for the longest time, and Sarah had even bought a third box of tissues and emptied the trash can for Jim.

By now, though, Olivia was laughing at the poor editing on _Captain Constellation_, and Jim knew that she was feeling better, even though she would occasionally sniffle and wipe her nose with her sleeve before he could hand her a tissue.

He put his arm around her, and she smiled as she snuggled up next to him. He idly wrapped his fingers in her hair and played with her scrunchie. 'I'm going to have to get Tim to help me make a scrunchie maker,' he grinned inside. 'She is gonna need a bunch of them for the next 80 years,' he mused silently as she looked up at him and grinned, showing off her braces.

'I do love her braces,' he laughed inside, leaning over and giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

Sarah and Chip Design looked in on the young couple, and they both smiled.

"She's so tired of all the hurt, Sarah; I'd take it all from her and wear it myself if I could," Chip said sadly, and Sarah kissed his cheek.

"Not that I'm complaining, Sarah-Bear, but what did I do to deserve that?"

"You were the perfect gentleman, Chip," she grinned and kissed him again. They went into the room, unnoticed by Olivia and Jim, sat on the couch in the reading area, and just held each other. Sarah had tried to convince him that his going to Go City was not a problem, but he was already working out ways to get back to Middleton on a regular basis for his MDR (minimum daily requirement) of Sarah-Bear goodness and worship.

The slam of the front door, the yelling, and the slamming of books on the table told Sarah that her younger sister's appointment had not gone well.

"I don't WANT braces!!!!" Brandi Giselle Best, who went by Giselle for awhile but now went by 'Elle', was not a happy camper, and Carlene Best, her mother, could not calm her down as she strode angrily to her room and slammed the door behind her.

"The visit did not go well, I take it," Sarah remarked calmly, and Chip laughed as Carlene walked into the room, her head down in a minor level of defeat.

"Kinda like yours did, Sarah," Carlene snarked and flopped down on the arm of the love seat. "Why are things so hared now?" Carlene asked the air.

"Well, d'oi, Carlene." Chip laughed. "What about the 'minor' things like nine-foot-tall aliens and 30-feet-tall killing machines?"

"Those were easier than getting braces on my little girl," Carlene replied with a sad grin.

--

Jackson Karmann stared up at the ceiling in his hospital room.

He knew the hospital was crowded, but they had insisted on giving him the best private room available. He had responded by telling them no, but they laughed at him and moved him over his objections. He responded by telling them to send all visitors in for autographs and pictures…any time of day…especially the rescue workers. "It's the least I can do for those folks that saved my live," he smiled that million-dollar smile that made the female doctors and nurses swoon (and, a few of the male ones, as well).

But, he knew what they didn't: why his family, his fiancée/actress Casta Herd, and his son and daughter, Jason and Jamie, were all dead, and it wasn't the Lowardians that had caused it, like everyone else thought.

It was the South American drug lords, angry over his outspoken anti-drug-use messages and his efforts to stop the movement of drugs into the country.

They had come, that night of the invasion, and killed them all. He came home to find his fiancée barely alive and his children dead. He had a chance to hold her in his arms, one last time, tell her he loved her, have her tell him she loved him forever, and kissed her…until her lips turned cold.

He held her for what seemed like hours until the monster machines came marching though the neighborhood, smashing houses. He heard a crash behind him, saw the massive wall of bookcases come tumbling down onto him, and then he remembered nothing.

When he next awoke, he heard voices laughing. He heard them, speaking in Spanish, and bragging about how they had killed them all, but that it looked like the aliens had 'taken care of their final problem for them." One of them kicked the case on top of him, and he resisted making a sound, and he heard them scurry off… 'like large rats,' he remembered thinking, and he passed out again. He didn't wake again until the sound of the rescue workers in the house, calling for anyone, made him moan. He heard a shout, felt the case come off of his body, and heard one of the rescue workers shout "WE FOUND HIM!!! IT'S SOUTH DAKOTA SMITH, and HE'S ALIVE!!" followed by a loud volley of cheers.

"God, I know you're busy, but would you send me an Angel?" he looked up into the ceiling and pleaded.

One of the rescue workers, a pretty short-haired sandy-brunette young woman, brought him some pictures that she had found in the house and set them up in his hospital room for him. "You've made my life so much better with your films, sir," she replied when he tried to tell her that it wasn't necessary. "I've enjoyed all of your films: I've laughed, cried, raged at the screen," she grinned, showing her clear braces, "and I had the courage to do this after you did, so this is truly, as my hero, Kim Possible, would say, 'No Big,'" she smiled, leaned over and kissed his cheek, placed a framed picture in his hands, and headed out of the room. "I'll be back to check on you," she smiled over her shoulder, and walked out, closing the door behind her so the people outside could not see the star of stage and screen crying at the picture.

It was his favorite: him, holding his son, in the picture with his ex-wife number 2 and his best friend, 'Robin Hood' Roberts as Jackson had nicknamed him in college, his lovely wife 'Maid Marion', and him holding his newborn daughter, Olivia, or 'the fair maiden Guinevere,' as Jackson had pronounced her.

"I hope you all made it through this," he whispered, kissing each person in the picture.

--

Olivia grabbed the remote from Jim's hand and stopped the DVD, rewinding to a scene with a villain's encounter with the Commander.

"What?" Jim asked.

"He looks familiar, for some reason," Olivia announced. Carlene looked up and grinned.

"I didn't know he played in this," she grinned, and Sarah turned and looked at her mom, now practically glowing with happiness.

"Who?" Sarah asked.

"Jackson Karmann," Carlene replied, now blushing.

"Who?" Olivia asked, even more confused. He looked familiar, but she couldn't place from where.

"'South Dakota' Smith," Carlene replied, blushing even more. Her husband, Steven Stewart Best, walked in and laughed.

"Down, Carlene," he laughed, and she turned and looked at him, embarrassed and blushing even more. "Sarah, you mother had the 'hots' for him since his first movie came out, and she has everything he's ever done recorded, somewhere, and on multiple media, too," he explained, and Chip and Olivia both laughed at the blushing Mrs. Best.

--

_Part 2: 11/10, after Monique's speech_

Monday morning, and Jackson had just spend his first weekend back home.

"Jackson?" the female voice called from the study, and he smiled. She had definitely come back to check on him, and more than once, too.

She had told him the horrors of what she had found on the job, after the invasion, in the rescue and recovery work, and they had cried together for what seemed like hours for all the new orphans in the world, all those who had died, and for all those 'leftovers', as Ms. Jenkins had so wonderfully described them. Shannon (it turned out that that was her name) had never been married; she was an amazing woman whose age he had totally misread from that first meeting. He had thought she was in her late 20s, he told her. She kissed his forehead when he told her that, explaining that she was on the positive side of 40, had no kids, and had never found the right man or woman to spend the rest of her life with.

He told her about losing his parents when he was in high school, and she told him that the same thing had happened to her when she was in college. He told her how he had found Casta, almost dead…and how he had been able to tell her goodbye before she died. She cried with him as he finally shed tears for her and his children.

"I found the contact," she called as he walked into the study. "Dr. Wade Load is screening Miss Jenkins' calls for her, per her request and that of Global Justice," she added, and he grinned.

"I think I'll keep you around," he smiled, reaching for the pro-offered phone from her hand.

"We'll see, 'Action Jackson,'" she laughed as she dialed the last digits and handed him the phone.

The phone rang only twice before it was answered.

"Mr. Karmann: it's an honor, sir," Wade said, and Jackson recognized the voice.

"The honor is mine, Dr. Load. I should have recognized the name from Team Possible, but I forgot," he smiled, and Shannon giggled in the background. "I need a favor, 'please and thank you,'" he added, and Jackson heard Wade spit drink into his monitor.

"Dr. Load?"

"Mr. Karmann, you took me by surprise," Wade replied.

"My daughter was a big fan of Kim's," Jackson explained, and continued. "I would like to talk to Ms. Monique Jenkins, if that is at all 'possible,'" he laughed, and Wade laughed with him.

"Just a moment, please," Wade put him on hold, took a deep breath, and called Monique's cell….

--

Monique Jenkins walked back into her dorm room, closed the door, and fell onto her bed with a huge sigh of relief.

"Tired much?" her roommate laughed. Sandy knew what Monique's schedule had been since her 9/11 speech: she had made the morning news shows, including the 'Hey, There, U. S.!' show on the Mouse mainstream network, the United Nations, the White House, and the knock that had had Sandy swoon when she opened the door to Coco Banana himself.

"No more calls," Monique looked up at Sandy just as her cell went off. She growled, pulled it from her purse, and started to make a dent in the wall with it…but, she remembered she had turned it off….

"Wade, you got some '_splainin_' to do: I'm exhausted," Monique laughed as she lifted it to her face.

"Too tired to talk to 'South Dakota Smith'?" Wade asked, already holding his ear bud arms' length from his ear.

It wasn't far enough to stop Monique's squeal of _**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_ from overloading his ears, though, and he brought it back when she took her breath.

"Wade, you'd better not be kidding me," Monique purred, "or I'm taking Joss on a shopping spree, and we're both using your credit card."

"He's not kidding," the rich, warm voice came over the phone, and Monique dropped it onto her bed in surprise.

She picked up the phone gingerly and heard him laughing softly and calling for her "Miss Jenkins? Are you there?"

"Yes sir, I am, Mr. Karmann, sir," she replied, and Sandy fell out of her chair.

"Please, Miss Jenkins, it's Jackson, especially since I'm asking you for a favor. You see, Ms. Robert's parents were friends of mine, and I want to pay my respects to her…if you think it's all right, that is," he added, and he held his breath for her response.

It didn't take long.

"Are you kidding me?"

"No, Miss Jenkins, I'm not. I assumed that she's tired of the attention and that she would want some time away from the cameras."

"Olivia? Tired of cameras?" Monique laughed. "She's a little diva-in-training," she added, and Jackson chuckled.

"Very well: if you and Dr. Load will set it up, I can come and get you in my plane; we'll fly back to meet Ms, Roberts, and I'll bring you back to college none the worse for wear.".

"I checked the schedules, Mr. Karmann," Wade broke in on the call, "Olivia has school holidays on Thursday and Friday, and Monique has a class Thursday morning with nothing after than until Monday."

"Wade, have you been in my diary…again?" Monique laughed, and Jackson chuckled at his non-response. "How about Thursday, then, Mr. Karmann…err, Jackson?"

"Perfect. The limo will pick you up after class and take you to the airport; I'll be waiting. Thank you, Miss Jenkins," and the line clicked off.

"Wade?"

"It was him, Monique. I'm calling Betty after I hang up with you."

"Thanks, Wade…you rock, you know that?" She smiled.

"Thank you, Mon, for everything you've done for Sweet Tea: I've never seen her happier…and I love the way she looks, too," Wade grinned.

"Cya, Wade," Monique giggled and hung up her phone, then turned toward her roommate, still sitting on the floor.

"'South Dakota Smith', Monique?" Sandy asked, and Monique nodded.

Sandy fell back onto the floor, clutching at her chest and pounding her heart while Monique laughed.

--

Betty smiled when she hung up the phone with Wade. She punched a code on her computer for an archived secure file, entered the pass code, and opened the file as she punched a button on her phone, placing an autopage for him.

He arrived in two minutes.

"What's up, Bets?" Dr. Commander Charles Percivel Nebulon (C. P.) Adams asked after he closed the door and dropped into the chair next to Betty's desk.

"He'll be in town on Thursday," she smiled as she turned the monitor around, and C. P. smiled.

--

Olivia had pulled out the box of pictures that the recovery folks had provided from her house, and she looked at that one picture on top, once again, as she had done multiple times a day for the past ten weeks, trying to remember.

Her parents, two other obviously new parents, and two babies were in the picture. But, the other man…he looked so much like Jackson Karmann…but, it couldn't be…could it?

"Olivia? You have a visitor," she heard Carlene call from the front door, and she put the picture back in the box, shoved it under her bed, and walked out of her room and to the front door.

"Monique?" Olivia grinned, and she stepped forward and gave her hero a hug. "Why are you back so soon? Skipping school?"

"No, Olivia," Monique grinned when Olivia let her go, "I brought someone who wanted to meet you, again," and she stepped to the side to reveal-

"Hello, Guinevere," he smiled, holding a bouquet of yellow roses, Shannon on that arm, and a polished black wooden cane helping him stand; Wade, behind him, was happy he was behind him as the Jackson assault began.

--

Wade laughed when they finally sat down: it had only taken them 15 minutes to get from outside of the front door to the living room. Carlene had barely stopped drooling and blushing from when he kissed her cheek, thanking her for taking Olivia into her care.

"Olivia, I don't know if you remember me," he started, and she interrupted him.

"I remember Daddy talking about 'Action Jackson,'" she smiled, and Jackson blushed. "Would that be you, sir," she fluttered her eyelashes, and Jackson laughed.

"You are definitely your mother's daughter, Olivia," he smiled, and Olivia felt better, hearing that one phrase.

"Is this a private party, 'Action Jackson,' or is everyone invited?" Jackson looked up and grinned.

"C. P. and Dr. Director: she hasn't wised up and thrown you out yet, huh, C. P.?" He laughed as he stood and hugged his old friend from years back.

"Are you kidding?" Betty laughed. "The world would not be safe if I didn't keep an eye on him," she added, and she shook Jackson's hand. "And, it's Director-Possible, now, Jackson," she grinned, holding up her hand.

"And, me without a wedding present?" He looked shocked, but he grinned and kissed her cheek, bringing a blush to Betty's face.

All sat back down, and Jackson continued.

"I don't know if you knew, but I lost my fiancée and kids from the second marriage to the Lowardians, just like you lost your parents and younger brother-to-be to them," he continued, and Olivia and Carlene looked shocked. Monique had heard the story on the plane trip down, but it still hurt to see him tell it. "I was alone, once again, until I met Shannon, and she rescued me, much as Monique rescued you," he smiled and squeezed Shannon's hand, eliciting a smile from her. "She brought me pictures from my house, and this one got me through my rehab," he reached into the briefcase Shannon had opened and pulled out the framed picture. "I hoped that all of you were all right, and then I heard the terrible news on 9/11 from Miss Jenkins's speech," he smiled at Monique, and she blushed. "That gave me the reason to get out of the hospital, my dear Olivia."

"Mr. Smith?" A familiar voice spoke, and Jackson smiled as he stood and turned to face the voice source.

"Yes, Mr. Stoppable?" he queried the smiling Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible.

"First: huge fan," Ron started, and Kim punched him in the side.

"Second, KP has something for you," he continued, and Kim shyly walked up to him and kissed his cheek, her face turning beet red.

"I've always wanted to do that," she whispered. "You are _such_ a hottie!" she gushed, and she stepped back, still blushing.

"I heard that already," he laughed, nodding his head toward a blushing Carlene Best.

"And, three, remember the scene where you say 'Big Rats; Why does it always have to be big rats?'" Ron asked, and Jackson nodded.

"Someone wants to talk to you about that scene," and Rufus stuck his head out of Ron's jacket, saw who was there, ran up onto Ron's shoulder, and began to chitter angrily and wave his arms angrily at Jackson Karmann, much to the delight of everyone there.

"I've been screamed at by directors, producers, but never so well, and never before by a Naked Mole Rat," Jackson commented after Rufus finished, and Rufus ran down onto his arm, grinned up at him, slapped paw/palm, and ran back to Ron.

"Mom, what are all the cars doing out…side…wow," Elle walked in the front door, saw Jackson, and dropped her books, grinning and forgetting her braces when she smiled at him.

"South Dakota Smith…in my living room…wow," she giggled, and Jackson stood, walked over to her, and smiled, showing her his clear braces her hand and lifting it to his lowered head and kissing it.

"My pleasure, Miss Best," he smiled as he lifted his head, looked into her eyes, and winked. She spilled a small spool of drool out of the left corner of her mouth, and he took a handkerchief from his pocket and dabbed at her face.

"Lovin' the braces, Miss Best," he whispered, then stood up and motioned for her to follow him and sit next to him. She sat down, and he sat between her and Olivia before he continued to speak.

"My parents were going to get me braces when I was younger, but they never had the money until my Junior year of High School, and then they died. We had to pay for the funeral, and there went the braces money. I managed to make it into and through college, worked for awhile," he grinned, and Kim saw C. P. wink at Betty, "and then I got lucky and got a small part in a movie that started me to where I am now. I finally got braces for myself, ad it was after that I got a copy of Mom's diary from my sister. In it," he wiped away a tear, "in it I found out where my braces money had come from: my parents had scrimped and saved on everything for us kids. Dad shaved with soap instead of shaving cream to save money, and Mom made her own clothes to make sure that we looked good for school.

"I knew that they loved us," he continued, wiping more tears with his sleeve, "but I never realized how much they sacrificed for us, or where I'd gotten that from with my wives, fiancée. and kids: I thought that all dads did that," he grinned and nodded to Steven Best, who had come in and stood behind Carlene. "Miss Best, Miss Roberts, you are both lucky young women: Miss Roberts, because your parents loved you enough to make sure you were taken care of, even if they weren't here, and Miss Best, to have such wonderful parents, so full of love and caring that they made sure you got braces before you were 50," he laughed.

"Olivia," he turned and looked at her, "your parents and I had called each other godparents of each others' children, but we never did anything about it formally," he looked down, took a deep breath, and looked up, squarely into Olivia's smiling face.

"I'm here to ask you, Olivia," he started, stopped, and then continued: "will you take an old actor to be your adopted godfather?"

The arms wrapped around his neck and the tears falling onto his shoulders and face from her answered his question, but she pulled her head back and smiled at him.

"Of course I will, you big KangaKitty, you," she giggled, and Jackson pulled her to him, hugging her for all he was worth, and shedding tears for his new family as he felt Shannon wrap her arms around the two of them.

It was several minutes before a single throat-clearing separated the threesome.

"Olivia, are you going for older men…again?" Jim Possible grinned, and Tim Possible laughed.

"Jim," Olivia stood, pulling Jackson to his feet, "I'd like for you to meet my AG, my adopted godfather, Jackson Karmann."

"The pleasure's all mine, Mr. Possible: I heard from Monique how you helped Olivia, and I owe you," he said, extending his hand.

"Really? How about a part in your next movie, then?" Jim grinned.

The response was unanimous:

"_**JIIIIIIIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMM!"**_

--

Jackson stood outside with C. P. and Betty as Monique said goodbye to everyone inside.

"It was them," Jackson said. 'They killed my family, and I'm certain that they killed Olivia's, as well, making it look like the Lowardians did it."

"Snap," C. P. growled.

"I'm so sorry, Jackson," Betty touched his cheek, and he smiled at her.

"You're looking good, Bets: married life seems to have done you good."

"You don't know how good," she grinned, lifting her patch and showing the other eye, now moving. Jackson gasped, and she lowered the patch. "Not a lot of people know, but they will after the first of the year."

"Dang, Bets, you're moving fast," he laughed, and he laughed even harder when she patted her stomach and grinned.

"Wanna be another AG, AJ?"

"OMG, Bets, Slim must be a miracle worker."

"He's not a member of the Klan, if that's what you mean, Jackson," she started, and C. P. waved his hands and head 'NO!', but to no avail, and Jackson smiled.

"…but, he's a Wizard under the sheets, huh?" he finished for her, and C. P. groaned.

Betty smiled. "Indeed."

"Hey, Kangakitty!" the young voice called out, and Jackson smiled and turned.

Olivia and Elle stood at the door, both smiling and showing off their mouth hardware. He held his arms open, and they ran for their hugs. Shannon grinned as she watched Jackson with the two young girl-women, smiling more than she had seen in all of the months she had spent around him.

"Thank you, Mr. Karmann," Elle said, looking up through a tear-covered face, and he shook his head 'no'.

"Jackson, please, Elle," and her tears were joined with a smile that lit the outdoors.

"You feel like Daddy felt," Olivia grinned, and Jackson managed to not break down into a pile of blubbering goo. "And, you smell like him, too," she sniffed. "At least, I'll know what kind of aftershave to get you for your birthday, now," she laughed.

"I'll cover Christmas, then, Olivia," Elle laughed.

"You two," he laughed with them, realizing that he wasn't alone, any more.

"Told you," Shannon whispered into his ear as she kissed his cheek. "You were never alone, but you just didn't know it."

"Thank you," he smiled and realized, for the first time, that they were both tall young women. "I asked for an angel, and He sent me three," and Shannon, Olivia, and Elle all giggled and hugged him again.

--

**Author's afterward:**

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I hope you enjoyed this little tale, interwoven with the _**Birth, and Rebirth**_ arc. My thanks, once again, to Star_Eva01 for another rapid-fire and quality beta.

To ja and kt: May your quills always be sharp, and your inkwells never run dry. Thank you, for all that you have done for me, and I hope you like this piece.

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Thanks for reading, and please review.

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Kim Possible Characters © the Walt Disney Company, USA

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